IRS Extends Tax Filing, Payment Deadline for Hawaii Wildfire Victims

Destroyed homes and buildings on the waterfront burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii, on Aug. 10, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said on Aug. 18 that it would provide tax relief for victims of the wildfires in Hawaii, particularly those in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-designated areas.

According to the IRS, taxpayers in those areas will now have until Feb. 15, 2024, as opposed to the initial Oct. 16 deadline, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

The new deadline will apply to those who had a valid extension to file their 2022 return due to run out on Oct. 16, 2023. Tax payments related to these 2022 returns, due on Apr. 18, 2023, are not eligible for this relief.

This will also apply to quarterly estimated income tax payments due on Sept. 15, 2023, and Jan. 16, 2024. It also includes quarterly payroll and excise tax returns due on Oct. 31, 2023, and Jan. 31, 2024.

“In addition, penalties for the failure to make payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 8, 2023, and before Sept. 7, 2023, will be abated as long as the deposits are made by Sept. 7, 2023,” it stated.

The IRS said it would work with taxpayers living outside the disaster area but whose records are required to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period. Taxpayers qualifying for relief living outside the disaster area will have to contact the IRS.

“It is possible an affected taxpayer may not have an IRS address of record located in the disaster area, for example, because they moved to the disaster area after filing their return,” it stated.

“In these kinds of unique circumstances, the affected taxpayer could receive a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS for the postponement period,” the IRS added.

Nearly 700 Personnel Deployed

Burned cars and homes in a neighborhood that was destroyed by a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, are seen on Aug. 17, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The death toll from the fires that swept through Maui on Aug. 8 reached 111 on Aug. 17. They have become the deadliest fire in the United States in more than a century. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people remain missing.

The cause of the wildfires across parts of Maui is under investigation. Lahaina, a historic town in western Maui that was home to more than 12,000 people, was worst hit and has now been reduced to a barren wasteland.

The U.S. Defense Department said on Aug. 17 that it had deployed nearly 700 personnel and 140 coast guards to assist in fighting the wildfires.

A burned-out development in Lahaina Town on Aug. 16, 2023. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

The army deployed two CH-47 Chinooks with fire suppression buckets. More than 189,000 gallons of water have been dropped to support firefighting efforts, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

“And again, we’re all watching the situation in Maui with heavy hearts and our continued thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been impacted,” Mr. Ryder stated.

Army Brig. Gen. Stephen F. Logan said the army “will continue to support and aid local, state, and federal authorities and partners, ensuring that we offer the best possible support in the days and weeks ahead.”

Close to 6,000 survivors have registered for federal assistance and may be eligible for immediate resources, such as hotel rooms or financial aid, according to Marcus Coleman, a senior FEMA official.

Mr. Coleman said that FEMA had approved more than $5.6 million in assistance to nearly 2,000 households, including more than $2.3 million in initial rental assistance.

The head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency resigned on Aug. 17 after expressing no regrets for not sounding the sirens during Lahaina’s deadly wildfires.

Herman Andaya, who had been the Maui Emergency Management Agency administrator since 2017, asserted that the sirens are typically reserved for tsunami warnings, and had never been used in the situation of wildfires.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.